Automatic load despatching and delivering apparatus.



c. s. JENNINGS. AUTOMATIC LOAD DESPATCHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

' APPLICATION FILED MAY 2. 1916. 1,244,856. Patented. Oct. 30,1917.

wz'inesses. fizz/7622201;

f, Chester, 5 fizz/21137.5.

Mfg) fig .5

5 2 I flllarne c. 3. JENNINGS, AUTOMATIC LOAD DESPATCHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2. 19").

Patentd Oct. 30, 1917'.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

ji venioi? Chester 5 Jnnl'lzysf. [Q l iorlzqy PI: ES MMEZDQQ E.

I I I I wl'hzesses.

CHESTER s. JENNINGS, or BOSTON, "Mfr$SACHUSETTS, ,ASSIGNOR To 'rnnmn ilisoixrooivi- 'PANY, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,ALYCORPGBATIQHQFLNEW'JERSEY, I

AUTOMATIC Lona) DESPA'IZOHING Ann 33EL=IMERING-- APPARATUS;

Lei teen,

To all whom timely concern.-

Be it known that'l, CHESTER S1 Jn NINes,

a citizen of the United" States, residing at Forest Hills, Boston, inthe county of Sutfolk and State ofMassachu's etts, haVeinyentedceBtain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Load Despatching and 'Del1v ering Apparatus, of which the tollow ng 11s a rier at one station or despatching point, and

being thereafter automatieally unloaded from said earrierat a predetermlned station {located along the path ofsaid carrier."

The preferred embodiment of myinvention contemplates the provision of an improved tray or carrier which :is provided with means for sweeping ofi' from platforms located along and preferably above its path oftravel, pa'rcelsor the like Which-may have been emplaced upon said platformsfsaid tra or carrier being adapted, to deliver its lead at any one of a fnumber of stations;

the settin'gbf the destination-controlling apj pa-iatus upon the tray or earrier being made at substantially the same time thatfthe load is imposed thereon. Y

I have further aimed to so constitute the controlling mechanism for saidcfarrier, that a loaded carrier Will not pickup additional parcels or the like Whenpass'ing --stations intermediate its loading and ,disoharging points, i Another obj ectof y invention hasjbeen to ,proy'ide means for preventing the inadrt n hang f s ng of en olli i mechanism upon any given carrier, hile'tl ie latter s bearing ts load toward the rstatlon at which it is to discharge said load. d in I Another object ofany inventlonhas'been" toso constitute the system'fthat a eryleonsiderable number of stations may be served thereby; Whereasin mostlof'the pickup and delivery systems which havecome into extensive use, there is imposed a limitation upon the number of stations Wh" served, by reason of the 'construf ion eme, p y a. a

Mueller m l f ,of Fig;

Specificationjof Letters Patent. xl iajjentgidifigt gfi .1917,

hpplieatilongfiletl lflia y2,1916. SerialNo.94,95. 5'1 1: I

t 0 cbn u tth a' rie fs hat any i n 0 cels or' the like, without danger "of inad vertently dropping any oftheselatter along the line oftravelot the carrier. L f (These and other objects of my invent-ion Will be hereinafter referred to and the no vel el e nentsand "combinationsof means Wheresaid Object may be attained Swill be I more pended hereto. I d 4 d I In the drawings which tormapartjhereof and inivhich likereterence c'hara'ctersides'ig nate like parts throughouttheseveral yiei'v's, I haveexemphfied a preferred embodiment of my nvention; but as 1 am zwvare oft Very q 'uyb the scopepf said elaims. "Reterringto the drawings:

j Figure 1 isa somewhat diagrammatio side j'c'onstructed in 'aooordance with the principles of my invention. n; ,5

tig'l2gisa side wiew of apreferredtypeot carrier. I

carrieriY F :3 is d ai eq i l lin l l zetll 3- o My; aire tl p t a gr pp g"m chanism; the section iiig taken ,on' the ,lineew ilg- 4 ea-freema Fig. 5 is a ae ansee on tak n fbn line I .Fi mt isjfa similar section-taken on line vitat ng-1a:

v Fig. F is 'an i. e1 largediside el'eyatio-ino the inl ad ng positle l QfLQ- le of the station smatte ing-'1: ,q

ing a w er a oa t P #911 11;ert b e- -2I par la y ,Pdin' e ut in th ltim i era at elevationot a portion otadespatchisystem' engaged or disengaged at will.

Fig. 10 is a detail section taken online XX of Fig.9.

Fig. llis an end view ofthe loading apparatus shown in Fig. 8; said apparatus being viewed from the line XI-XI of said figure; and

Fig, 12 is a similar view'of the unloading mechanism, as seen from the line,XIIXII of Fig. 7.

Where the apparatus is, intended to handle somewhat bulky or" heavy parcels or the'like, I refer to'use'an endless track composed of parallel rails 7 which may conveniently be made of angle iron., These rails are preferably elevated above the floor a sufficient distance to permit of the ready emplacement of loads upon the loading platforms hereinafter described, or the re-- moval of said loads from the receiving pans. Accordingly, I prefer to support said rails at f suitable intervals by brackets, such as those respectively designated 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

. Carriers 8 are provided with flanged wheels 9 which engage the rails as shown, for example, in Figs. 3'and 9; said carriers being drawn along by endless cables 10 with which their grip mechanisms can'be On each carrier, these mechanisms,each identical except that they are respectively right and left handed,comprise cable gripping jaws l1,preferably'located adjacent the forward end of the carrier; each pair of said jaws.

The carrier itself preferably comprises a pan-like receptacle or tray which has a bottom composed of two doors or traps 8, respectively hinged upon longitudinally extending shafts 16, which extend through side lugs 17. The doorstendto swing open but are latchedclosed', by latches 18.

As viewed in Fig. 3, the right hand door overlaps the left-hand one, as at 19, and said right-hand door carries a rock-shaft 20, journaled in brackets 21; said shaft carrylng upon its respective extremities said latches '18 which, when the doors are closed, engage pins 22, a coiled spring 23,.on said shaftnormally holding it and its latches in position to cause the latter to engage said pins. A stop arm 24; onshaft 20 engages a stop or pin 25 in the corresponding door, so that when said door is dropped open, as shown bydash and dot linesin g- 5 he acting portions 30" of said bars.

latches will be in position to engage pins 22 as soon as the door is swung up. b

Upon each of the doors is mounted a roller 26; and the pin 27 of such roller is journaled in a bracket 28 which is fastened to the under side of its door. WVhen the latches are tripped in the manner hereinafter described, and the doors swing open to deposit the load therefrom into a tray or receptacle 29, said rollers move arcuately into engagement with closing bars '30 which firstserveto limit the outward swing of the doors and thereafter close these latter where the rollers 26 ride over the twisted or cam- As best shown in Fig. 12, the twists in the bars 30 in any given pair of the latter, are'so made as to cause the'left-hand door, as per Fig. 3, to close slightly in advance of the righthand door, to allow for the overlap 19.

' At thejupper rear edge of each carrier is a rock-shaft 31, journaled in lugs 32 attached to the carrier. This shaft carries sweep- 0E fingers 33 and an operating arm 34, the latter being secured in place thereon by a set-screw 34, as indicated in Fig. 3. V Alight spring 35normally holds a stop pin 36 on 1 the arm 34, in contact with a limiting lug 36, and swhen this armis thus disposed, the fingers 33 occupy the position inwhich they are shown in full lines in Fig. 2; said fingers being connected to; the shaft 31. by a stiffjcoiled spring 37 which normally tends to hold the stop lug 38 of a collar 38, which is set-screwed to a rockshaft 31, against a boss'39 on one of the hubs 33 of the sweep-off fingers 33, as best show'n in Fig. 3 Thus, normally, the fingers33 will move in correspondence with the movements of the operating arm 34 and said arm and fingers arenormally held in the positions in which they are shown in full lines in Fig. 2, by the light spring 35.

When the roller 40 upon the arm 3a engages-a track cam 41, however and is rocked thereby to its dotted line position in Fig. 2,1the fingers 33 are elevated, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 and pass between the slats orhorizontally extended fingers 42 which constitute the despatching or loading platform at any given station, and the parcel or other load which has been placed on said platform preparatory to despatch, is swept off into thetray or receptacle 8 of the passmg carrier.

The tray is preferably of sufficient size to adapt it to receive even a plurality of bulky parcels simultaneously, and abutments 42 on the hubs of the sweep off fingers are caused to'engage pads or bosses 43 on the side of the receptacle 8, to sustain the thrust exerted againstthe sweep off fingers by heavy parcels which otherwise might rock the fingers back clear of such parcels.

' 'Each cam a1 is supported by thebrackets 5; 6 and -7 of the corresponding station;

being preferably connected thereto by small angle brackets it; as shown in Figs: 9' and 11.

The free ends of the loading platform'- fingiers' point in the directionin=which the carrier is traveling and have then other eX- tremities: upturned as at 42' and pinned" to a fixed shaft 45 which at each station is carried by'the bracket 7 thereof.

I shall-next consider themechanismwhich determinesthe unloading. point for a carrier which may .be assumed tohave loadeditself, so to speak; as it; passed a given platfofmi' i fingersr3'3; is a short extension oiil'ilh at) to which is pivotally connected a link 47,: of

which two are provided; one upon either side of the rear of the carrier; A shaft 48" extends through the lower ends. of these links andis threaded at itsends into T-connections 49 which are slida-ble upandvdown on rods 50. Collars 51' may be provided to hold the ends of the links 47' close to these connections; and whenever the fingers33" are rocked upwardly, itisevident that the shaft" 48will move downwardly toward its dotte line position; sho'wnin Fig. 3:

Longitudinal-1y slidable on shaft 48" is a; third T connect-ionor'bracket 51 froni'whichdepends a vrod 52'wl1ich is'slidable up and down in: aguide 58-which'isin turn slidably mounted on a second cross-shaft '54.- @This latter is fixed, being carried by brackets 55 \i hich. also hold the lower ends of the" rods 50-.

receptacle; as shown in: Fig. 22

Fronr the for-egoingkit will be seen that the pin" or rod 52- willalso' move up and down as the. sweep-01f fingers are rocked; while further, this pin is adjustable; into.

any one of a plurality of positions laterally withrespec't to the line of travel of the carrier and it will-moi e up and down incorrespondence with the liiovements'of the sweep of? fingers no'matter in which of said tions' it may be located:

Ateach' of thestatiohs there is a tapered guiding trough 56' the sides 56 of which gradually approach; each other toward the left as viewed in Fig. 9. 'This troughis pivoted to'the fra1ne6 at-'57 and its relatively free end is connectedto a'slide block 58 by' a shoulder bolt 59, which extends up through a slotz59, inthe bottom of the trough; As best shown inFig; 10','the' block 58 has a handle 58 by which its position lengthwise ofthe fixed shaft 60,-upon which This it is mounted; may bedetermined. shaft is preferably notched at 60 and the block; 58 carriesa detent 61 pivoted: thereto at 62, said' detent beingnoi mally held by its spring 63* in engagement with one or another of the notches 60 when the Upon each" of the two' hubs 33 of the Brackets 55. are preferably attached direetly to? the adjacentwall of ,thecarrier posh block 58" is operatively disposed." When the block is in' the positioni-n which it is shown.

in dotted lines in. Fig; 9; thisdetentwill at times simply press against an un-not'ched portlongof the shaft 60,-and thej notches arepreferably sloped to facilitate themovement J of theha-ndle 58', with itsblock; out any desired number of notc-hesfrom said dotted li'neior inoperativev position of the block;

while'inadvertent:return of the latter't'o said inoperative position is prevented by the detent 61:2, c o To the block 58 is attached a cord 6% which runs unde'ra pulley 6,5, and, as shown iii- Fig. 1 up'toa; second ,p'ulleyv66 and thence downto a weigli-t'tf, so that unlessheld by its detent'; there is a tendency for the block 58 to more to its saidinoperative position and thereby to swingthe troughor guide 56f I i i latch" against which bearsthe spring,-70,-

serves as ,a'finger-piece whereby wheiiithe' handle 58 is grasped by thfe'hand'ofitheop erator,; said-c piece may; be movedinto the'i recess 71 provided therefor in said handle topermit the; det'ent to be clicked; outipast successive notches, or if the detentis. held in" its inoperative, position by, said latch as" it; normally isiafter eaclmiioVem'eht vof block; I

58 by itsTweightjGZ, the block maybemoved out to; the position thereof desired and the finger-piece may thenf'be pressedto release" I the detent and therebyhold said. block in{ said.;positioni t The block 58 carries-a poi ter which may point to any one ofthe figures shown onthe; lower side-of theframe 5 inFig. 11,

in'whichlatter it will be noted that portions c of the frames 61 and 7 have beenbroken away for pur sosesi of, illustration -These figures correspondto therespective stations',*;

of which there may beg-for,example iten;

and the setting of the block 58 with' its trough 56 for any one of these determines the point of discharge: of the load from a.

given carrier as. will be hereinafter, dei

scribed; v i

. Whencthe troughzorguide 56"mov'e"s from the position, thereof corresponding to'ast'a tioii lyint'o its-inoperative POSltlOllgfllB side or flange of said trough nearestthe latter willengage'and move a bent finger 73 which is: ri idlvT connected to an arm174q1 )i'voted This arm is held .ing theqposition thereof shown in full lines in Fig. 9, by a, light trough 56 is in its inoperative position is also inoperatively disposed. As soon however, as said trough is set, even for station 1, said cam moves out to its operative position to adapt it for engagement with lever 77 of the next a 3 )roachm carrier.

A carrier lever 77 is pivoted at 78 to the rear of each carrier and is pressed by a spring 79 into its upper position, as shown in Fig. 3. For co-action with the lower arm 77 of this lever, there is provided on each carrier a slide rod 80, mounted in bracket bosses 8l81 on the rear of said carrier. The boss 81 is preferably provided with a spring pressed detent 82 which may engage either of two recesses or notches inthe rod 80; said detent being shown in the righthand one of said recesses in Fig. 3. 4

The rod 80 is keyed in the boss 81, as by means of a feathered key 83, and said rod has affixed thereon, substantially intermediate said bosses, a horned block 84, the horn or projection 84: of which-is adapted for engagement with the upper end of the carrier door-latch 18; this however only whenthe rod 80 has been moved so far to the right, as per Fig. 3, as to not'only engage the detent 82 with the left-hand notch for the same but even farther, so that said detent rides on rod 80 to the left of both of said notches. been moved to the riglit-hand-limit of its travel by a lever 77, which is disposed-on the other side of the carrier and is substantially like the lever 77, said bar does not" stay in such limiting position after the lever 7 7 has been released from its cam 85, hereinafter referred to,but moves one step to the left to bring detent 82 into engage ment with the left-hand one of its notches;

a rather stiff spring 86 being provided for this purpose. So long as the controlling rod 80 is in its extreme left-hand positionflchis spring 86 is free; but when said rod is moved to its intermediate position in which the detent 82 engages the left-hand notch,

as aforesaid, then, spring 86 will preferably be placed slightly under compression by the adjacent end or hub of the member 84. When the rod 80 is moved still farther to the right by its lever 7 7, the spring 86 strongly tends to return said rod to its intermediate position, which lies between the dotted line and full line positions shown in Fig. 3. i

In this intermediate position then, the controlling rod of a carrier which is to co' act other than merely idly with the cam 74, will be found; and as the lever 77 is rocked clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 3, its end 77 will engage the adjacent end of said rod When the bar has thus and moveit into the position in which it is shown in said figure.

This movement brings an upstanding finger 87, which is pivoted at 88 to the number 84,.into position to act as a stop against which may bear an arm 89 which projects from the central hub of the fingered piece 33, as best shown in Fig. 6. When this stop is thus interposed in the path of said arm 89, the arm 34 may be idly rocked by its roller 40 and any cam 41 which may be encountered by the latter,the spring connection 37 between the finger-piece 33 and the rock-shaft 31 yielding and the lugs 38 and 39 being momentarily separated while the roller a0 is in engagement with such cam. 1

' As in the preferred constructionshown, the finger-piece will be in its elevated position when the cam 74 is thus causedto engage the lever 77 the arm 87 is'yieldingly mounted-on member 8%, a spring 90 tending to move the arm 87 from its canted dotted line position in which it is shown in Fig. 8, counter-clockwise into its full line position, as soon as the piece 33 has resumed its normal position in which the end of the arm 89 clears the arm 87. Stops 9192 on the members 8 87 limit this rotational movement ofsaid arm; while sincethe left-hand end of spring 90 is attached to a collar93 on rod 80, said spring moves with said rod as the latter is driven in one direction or-the other.

Referring now toFigs. 1, 7 and 12, it will be observed that a cam'85, such as above referred to, is pivoted upoira spindle 9i to the'frame 4 of each station, and anoperating arm 85 is mounted upon the spindle, whereby said cam may be moved down into its operative position, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7, orup intoitsfull line position, as desired. To the'end of this arm is connected a link 95, which extends down to an arm 96 mounted upon the. end of a rockshaft'97. Each station is provided with an actuating cam'98, fixedly mounted on this shaft at some position between the lugs 99 which carry said shaft, as shown in Fig. 12. The position however is variable and in fact corresponds with the respective station numbers shown on the frame 5 in Fig. 11 in accordance with which the controlling rod 52 5 0f the said station No. 10. This will set the trough 56'so that a vertical plane through the "center of the narrow opening or throat at the V left-hand end of said trough; between its converging Wall's 56, will be substantially 5 the same distance from the.rightehztnderail engageesaid c'am andtheoperatin g' arm of said carrier iw ill: be iroc'kedabaek :to :rotate its shaftfi 'l. This elev ates.the:fi-ri gers 33 :which :pass "between the t-finger s 42 6f the ilo'ading platform and sweep off the load Finto the Tecepta-cle of the carrier. vThe trap doors :8 ofsthislatter, jhei'ng vlatohed jiup will 1 support the load, andthe carrier,avillzthen'st-navel on until -'itsi'le ver 7 7 is pushed d-own ;hyi the3oa-1n 74: which moved into iFthB 'Jp athaoi said deter Whenfithe block 581W21S S8l3 fforastationrN o. 1.

tPhemoveinentzofelever 7:7 drives thevOQI trolling i'rod -80 f1'0111 "its intermediate positionto therleftas ev i ewedrin Fig. 3,;ianichth-is brings the pivotedwarrn 87 against thee tension 89 ofrthe-fing'er-piece 33. b

'When the latterwas fizrst; froeked qnpwardly by the arm "34:, thelihks i? "lowered-E the {slid ing frame composed otshaft--48, slideiconn'eotions l9, and rod 7-52, so t-haitithe end of this rod vwas dropped isu fficiently jto adapt-it for engagement with the right-hand all 56': of the. trou-"gh '56, 'as viewed in Fig. 11;.

This wall is usually the only one which comes into play ;.at this time, but the opposite Wallof thetrou-gh insures an exaet positioning of- 'the:-pi-n 5-2 as the latter rides oiit of the throat :Oqffsaid trougln The --i;nclined might-hand 'wall -56, therefore, will -driifeythe rod 62 over to a determined position with respect :to the shaft 5e, together, of rcourse, with its 1 slidably mounted supporting or guiding -element s?51 and 53, and these latter frictional-1y ,hold rod in said position thereafter; until after the. discharge of -the *load'from thesearrier.

The depressed :rod 52 :ha-Ving rthus been set, it next encounters "the zprefenablypen l'arged upper end 6f. the (letent 61- and;-rocks this latter to the le'ft as vie wejd inFigsuS and 10. This allows the Weightf67 ,to 'draW the block 58' towardzand imo itsvinoperative position and :eorrespondingly qsW-ings the trough into the; position L in l1ich -it-H-is1 shown in. dotted lines in F-ig.9.

The-carrier now travel-st 011,;loadedE; draw -1 by the =c'ables110, Ji'rntilit reaches the'station for which it 'has been ;'set :to discharge its load',-'- to *wihistatio'n .-?-No,.r 1-. tMeaIiwhile; as soon r' asjthe 'aroller .140 ,ef saidzcarrier hit-d elettredfltheieain 14 1@offstation;lflgtlieaarrnifirl together z'witlrits fingerssas hadrdoked hack intb :the etition as hieh zitli'ese partssare earn 41 of station No. 10, its roller '40 :wi-u

in its upper position, so that it man relea r everytrough '56 encounteredpunti lit is again permitted:to 'be l oweredbywthe carrier Fope'ratingarin. I 1

lnsthe ease )nnfdr consideration, ithe station N0. 51', 4561twlrichzthepdoad is destined, I

h ppens gto be the next one :to theestation Erom which the load was -despa-tched, as s'howniin Fig. 1; thettraok eonrenientl a a ingzcons-ideredto'beg in itsroirctiit at,"for

amplasaidstation Nos-1t UPQH-the-anrmal I of saidta'rri er said station, :aft'erjit has ipassed the rfra-me -4:athereof,yits *rod 552 will engage aiic lvdeprfess thecani 98; because ithascbeenysetgsogtddo. Thisyroeks'downlthe cam ;:and awhile thisFlatter is tlIItlSf;Cll-F- leased frd n theirapins 22,. a nd the doorsis v are; free to. drop open and deposit theirrload in the receptacle 29 therebenea th,

{:AS; the lever 77 c1ears :oam -85, the spring 86 ret-urns jithe rodj80;t o itsinterined iate pd a-load tronnstation N0. :1, for transmission back toastation No. 10,01" to any intermediate station. I

Before thecam J oti Station No. :1 i s-.v en: oountered 'bythe "roller {l0 of said earrie-r, the :canpseet-ions '30 ;o-f=th;e bars 30 willjbe engaged with the '1'o1lers26;on,- the earr-ier doors to close the *latter; -;the 1atchesl-8 f bein-g, of course; operative at such time.

r11 a load is (to he picked up atstation N o. 1, the troughhti will have been .set {51S above deseribed and {the various yoEperations of vl'oadi n g, :setting the eontrolling mechanism :of the carrier, n'nload ing the car rier fl-IlCl: LH1S6tl'/l1}g:S Lil mechanisms Will be a; ai n gone throngh,substantiallyaas per the; em going. I a i rn'o load:?is -'to. be despatehed fr-om statidn No. 5 1, then; itstrough i W ill whavevbeenz swimg tulliatort-he r htasi ijewedin Fig.1;'1-1,;by t he :pa'ssag'ev'ef 'o nerprwio warrier st: 4 tat ny ffirHQlEilIl .qsuchsoi e theg-irod 52, depitssed by 7 he jca -Alaof-.1Statibn wilheagiagethe lief shandwalliafifieasrl,

in said figurefand will be wiped over thereby into the position in which it is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, or in other words to theeXtreme right. i

The cam 74 will obviously be inoperar tively disposed under such circumstances and hence will not interfere with the inter mediate setting of the passing carrier.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is: V

1. In despatch apparatus for parcels and the like, the combination of a track, a series of stations located along said track, a carrier to travel along said track, a device at at least one of said stations for supporting an article to be 'despatchcd, a sweep-oft element carried by said carrier and adapted when operatively disposed to wipe said arti cle off of said supporting device onto said carrier while the latter is passing said device, means to move said sweep-off element with respect to its carrier, tooperatively dispose it to wipe said article off of said device as aforesaid, adjustable means,'carried by said carrier to prevent said last mentioned means from thus operatively disposingthe sweep-oil element, and means at another of said stations for controlling the setting of said adjustable means as said carrier passes said last mentionedstation.

2. In despatch apparatus for parcels and the like, the combination of a substantially horizontal track, a plurality of stations located along said track, a support at one of said stations, comprising substantially horizontal fingers adapted to hold in position thereon an article to be despatched, the free ends of said fingers pointing in the directionin which said article is to be despatched, a carrier to travel along said track having a receptacle for articles to be conveyed and a set of fingers towardth'e rear of said receptacle, adapted to pass in upstanding position between the horizontal fingers of said support and to sweep the article held by said horizontal fingers longitudinally with respect to the latter toward their free ends, and means to propel said carrier along said horizontal track to effect said relative move ment between said upstanding and horizontally extending fingers.

8. In despatch apparatus for parcels and the like, the combination of a substantially horizontal track, a plurality of stations located along said track, a support at one of said stations, comprising substantially horizontal fingers adapted to hold in position thereon an article to be despatched, the free ends of said fingers pointing in the direction in which said article is to be despatched, a carrier to travel along said track having areceptacle for articles to be conveyed and a set of fingers toward the rear of said receptacle, adapted to pass in upstanding position between the horizontal fingers of said support and to sweep the article heldby said horizontal fingers longitudinally with. respect to the latter toward their free ends,

and means to elevate and lower said fingers on said carrier. 7

4. In despatch apparatus for parcels and the like, the combination of a substantially horizontal track, a plurality of stations located along said track, a support at each of said stations, comprising substantially horizontal fingers adapted to hold in position thereon an article to be despatched, the free ends of said fingers pointing in the direction in which said article is to be despatched, a carrier to travel along said track having a receptacle for articles to be conveyed and asot of movable fingers adapted to pass when in an upstanding position between the horizontal fingers of a support and to sweep the article'held'by said horizontal fingers longitudinally with respect to the latter toward their free ends, means to displace said movable fingers with respect to said carrier, into their said upstanding position as the carrier approaches the article on said horizontal fingers, adjustable means to prevent said finger displacing means from so positioning said movable fingers, and means at another of said stations for loading said carrier and setting said adjustable means to prevent said movable fingers from operating to sweep a second load onto the first.

5. In despatch apparatus for parcels and the like, a track having therealong a plurality of stations, a carrier to travel along said track and having a load supporting part adapted to be inclined with respect to the plane of said track to dump the load in said carrier out of the latter, means to hold said part in its load retaining position, means to rcleasesaid part from its holding means, controlling means carried by said carrier and adjustable out or" a determined position thereof into any one of a plurality of positions each or which latter corresponds to one of said stations, means to load said carrier and substantially simultaneously set its controlling means in correspondence with the station at which said load is to be discharged, a device at each of said stations to co-act with said controlling means only when the latter is set in the one of said positions which corresponds with the said device of such station, for causingsaid controlling means to operate said. releasing means to dump the load from the carrier, and means to automatically return said controlling means to said determined position.

6. In despatch apparatus for parcels and the like, a track having therealong a plurality of stations, a carrier to travel along said track and having a load supporting part adapted to be inclined with respect to the plane of said track to dump the load in said carrier out of the latter, means to hold flatter corresponds to on 'igaaagsse said part in its load retaining position, means to release said part from its "holding means, controlling means carried by said carrier and adjustable out ofadetermined position thereofinto any one of a plurality 'of-positions each {of which latter corresponds to one o'fsaid stations, means to load said carrier and substantially Simultaneously set its controlling "means in correspondence With the station at which said load-is to be 'dischar'ged,and a device-at each of said statlo'ns to co-act With-said controlling means only when the latter is set in the one of 'saidp'o- 'sitio'ns which corresponds ith the said device of such station,"for causing'sai'd 'controlling means to operate said releasing means to dump the load froin the carrier,

7. In clesp'atch apparatus for parcels and the like, a track having therealong a plurality of stations past each of which it 'eX- tends substantially horizontally, carrier to travel along said track andhaving a receptacle load supporting part of whichfis adapted to-be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane of said track at any given station to unload said receptacle at said statiommea-n's tohold said part in its lead retaining position, meanlsto release said part from its holding means, controlling means carried by said'carrier and adjustable out of ,a determined position thereof into any one o'fa plurality of positions each of which latter corresponds to one of said stationsymeans operative While said carrier is tmvelingpast, a station. to load said receptacle and set its controlling means in correspondence with the station at which said load is to bedischarged, a'device at each'of said-stations to co-act with said controlling means only i vhenwthe latter is-s'etin-theone 'ofits said positions which correspondswith the said device 'of-such station, for causing said controlling means to operate said re leasing means-to dump theload from the recepta-cle, and means to automatically return said controlling means to said determined position thereof.

8. In despatch apparatusffor parcels and the lilre, a trackhaving'therealong a plurality of stations past each of which it ex "tends substantially horizontally, acarrie'r'to travel along said track and-having a receptacle a load supporting part of which is ada'ptedto be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane of's'aidtrack at any given station -to unload said receptacle at said station, means'to hold saidp'a'rt in its load retaininq-positionymeans torele'ase said part from its "holding -means, controlling means carried by'said 'car'rierand "adjustable 'out "of a "determined "position thereof into "any one of a plurality of positions each 'ofwhi'ch f sai'd stationsman rie'r l loading means, including fingered l'oad supporting platforms at ather saidsms'pond's 'Wlth the said device o'f such" station,

for causingsaid controlling means to operate said 'releasm'g means-to dump the: load from the receptacle.

- 9. In despatc'h apparatus for relatively 7 heavy parcels and' the like,a track 'having "therealong a "plurality of stations pa st each of which it extends substantially horiz'ontally, a carrier to travel along said track and having receptacle with a trap like'bottoin adapted to open to drop parcels out of said receptacle, loading platforms at eacho'f saidstationaaneans for" automatically trans- :fer-ringa load from one 0f "said platforms to said- 1 recep'tacl'e 'as the" carrier passes said platform, adjustable controlling means carriedbYSaidcarrier to determine the destination of said load, provisions to prevent-the emplacement of a second load upon-the-first when passing a subsequently encountered' loading platform, means to automatically set said controlling means and provisions-at substantially the time that said carrier is loaded froma given platform, and devices at reach of said stations, each differently art 1 usted in correspondence with the location of their irrespective stations along the trac'k, for coea'cting ivith said "controlling it meansaccording" to the-setting ofthe'la tter, "to cause said ca rrieri-to'dropits load at the-station for which said controlling means was set.

10. 111 despatc'h apparatus for 'relatir ely heavy parcels and-the like, a tra-ck having therealong a plurality of stations past each of which it 'e'Xten'ds "bs'tantially horizontally, "a carri'ertojtrav'el along said track an'd ha ving-"a receptacle 7 with a trap likebottom adapted to open t-o drop parcels out of said receptacle, loading platforms at each of said stations, means for automatically transferring a load from one of "said platforms to said receptacle as the-carrier passes sa id platform, adj us'ta'ble controlling 'means carriedby said carri'e'r to determine the idestinatio'n of'said lo'ad,--'-meaiis t'oautoinatically set said controlling means at "substantially the time that said carrier is "Io'aded 5 from a given platform, and devices at ea'chofsa-i d station's, eachfdilfer entliy -'a'djasre1 in corresno dencewith the {location of their re pective stati'ol areath'etr'ack,-for co act'in'g W-ith said controllin according to a so the setting of the latter,-to cause said car rier to drop its load at the station for which said controlling means was set.

- 11. In despatch apparatus for relatively heavy parcels and the like, a track having therealong a plurality of stations past each of which it extends substantially horizontally,a carrier to travel along said track and having a receptacle with a trap-like bottom adapted to open to drop parcels out of said receptacle, loading platforms at each of said stations, means for, automatically, sweeping a load from one of said platforms into said receptacle as the carrier passes said platform, adjustable controlling means carried by said carrier to determine the destination of said load, provisions to prevent the emplacement of'a second load upon the the track, for co-acting with said controlling means according to the setting of the latter, to cause said carrier to drop its load at the station for which said controlling means was set.

12. Indespatch apparatus for relatively heavy parcels and the like, a track having therealong a plurality of stations past each of which it extends substantially horizontally, a carrier to travel along said, track and having a receptacle with a trap-like bottom adapted to open to drop parcels out of said receptacle, loading platforms at each of said stations, means for automatically transferring a load from one of said platforms to said receptacle as the carrier passes said platform, ad ustable controlling means carried by said carrier to determine the destination of said load, provisions to prevent ing to the setting of the latter, to cause said 1 carrier to drop its load at the station for which said controlling means was set and means to close said trap-like bottom of said receptacle after the load has been dropped therefrom.

13. In despatch apparatus, a track having therealong a. plurality of stations past each of which it extends substantially horizontally, acarrier to travel alongsaid track and having a load supporting part adapted to be inclined with respect to the plane of said track to dump any load in said carrier out of the latter, means to hold said partin its load retaining position, means to release said part from its holding means, controlling means carried by said carrier and adjustable out of a determined position thereof into any one of a plurality of positions to determine the station at which said carrier shall be unloaded, a guide to set said controlling means at the station Where the load is emplaced on the carrier, said guide being adjustable out of a determined position thereofinto any one of a plurality ofpositions each of which corresponds to one of the pluralityof positions aforesaid ofsaid controlling means, means connected to said guide for movement therewith to cause the return of said controlling means to itssaid determined position when said guide occupies its determined position,

means to hold said guide in the one of its plurality of positions in which it may be set, and means to move said guide back to its determined position after it has set said controlling means on the carrier.

14. In despatch apparatus, a track having therealong a plurality of stations past each of which it extends substantially horizontally, a carrier to travel along said track and having a load supporting part adapted to be inclined with respect to the plane of said track to dump any load in said carrier out of the latter, means to hold said part in its load retaining position, means to release said part from its holding means, controlling means carried by said carrier and adjustable out of a determined v position thereof into any one of a plurality one of the plurality of positions aforesaid of said controlling means, means connected to said guide for movement therewith to cause the return of said controlling means to its said determined position when said guide occupies its determined position, means to hold said guide in the one of its plurality of positions in which it may be set, means to move said guide back to its determined position after it has set said controlling means on the carrier, and means to prevent the disturbance of said controlling means after it has been set until after said carrier has reached the station at which it is to unload. I

15. In despatch apparatus, a track having therealong a plurality of stations, a carrier to travel along said track, means to unload sesame said. carries: con roll ngameans carried y said carrier and adjustable out of a determined position thereof into any one of a plurality of positions to determine the sta 5 tion at which said carrier sha-l'lbe unloaded, a guide to set said controlling means at "the station where the load isremplaced on the c a-rr-ielysaid' guide being adjustable out of a determined position: thereof into any one of .a plurality of positions each of which corresponds to one of the plurality of positions aforesaid of said controlling means, means connected-to said guide for movement therewith to cause the return of said controlling means to its said determined position when said guide occupies its determined position means to hold said guide in= the one of its plurality of positionsin which it-may beset, .andnieans' to move said guide back to' its determinedposit-ion after it has set said controlling means on the carrier. i

'16 *In despatch apparatus, a track having therealong a plurality of stat-ions,'1a=- carrier to travel along said track-,- means to unload said carrier, controlling. means carriedby said carrier "and adjustable out of a determined position thereof-into anyone of. a plurality of positions to determine the Sta tionat which saidcarrier shall be unloaded, a guide to set said cont-rolling'l means at'the station where the load is emplaced on the carrier, said guide being adjustable out of a determined position thereof into any one of aplur-ality of positions each of which corresponds to one of the plurality of positions aforesaid of said controlling;"Ii e'a-ns; means connected to said guide for moaiement' therewith to cause the return of said controlling meansto its said determined position when said gulde occupies its determined position-,

means to hold said guide in'th'e one of its plurality of positions in which it may be set, means to move said guide back to its determined position after it has set said controlling means on the carrier, and means to prevent the disturbance of said controlling means after it has been set until after said carrier has reached the station at which it is to unload.

17 In despatch apparatus, a track having therealong a plurality of stations, carriers to travel along said track and adapted to be loaded from above the same while traveling past a station; a loading platform at at least one of said stations and comprising substantially horizontal fingers supported from points above the level of said fingers and at the ends of said horizontal fingers which are nearest to a carrier as the latter approaches the same, sweep-oil fingers movable up and down on said carrier with respect to the latter and adapted when elevated to pass between the platform fingers to sweep oil a load from the latter onto said carrier, means es to control said sweepofl fingers and to depasta rstaltion ;a loadingplatform at at-lea'st one'ofsaid stationsva ndcomprising substan ti'a-lly horizontal-r fingerssupported from points above the level of said-fingerszand at the ends of said horizontal fingers whichare nearest to a carrier asthe latter approaches the same, sweep-oft fingers movable lipand down on said carrier with respect to'fthe latter and adaptedwhen elevated to-pass between t-he platform fingers to' sweep off a load from the latteronto said .carrier,1nans tocont-rolsaid sweep-:olfYfingers and to ide= termine the point of discharge of said load fro said-carrier, and means to'setaa' part of said controlling means from a point ad; jajcent the loading platform aforesaid into any one ofv 'ilu'rality of adj ustments'there of in correspondence 'with' the" .station 'at which said carrier is to be unloaded,- said last mentioned means being below the path of travel of saidcarri'er H w 19: 'lnfldespatch apparatus, a track having therealongga plurality of stations, carriers to' travel along said track and adapted to be lba'ded' from above the same while traveling past- 'arstationi; a loadingplatform at at? least one of said stations and comprising substantially ten-zones: fingers supported from points above the level of said fingers and at the ends of saidhorizontal fingers which are nearest to a carrier as the latter approaches the same, sweep-0E fingers movable up andv down on said carrier with respect to the latter and adapted when elevated to pass between the platform fingers to sweep off a load from the latter onto said carrier, means to control said sweep-off fingers and to determine the point of discharge of said load from said carrier, and means to set a part of said controlling means from a point adjacent the loading platform aforesaid into any one of a plurality of adjustments thereof in correspondence with the station at which said carrier is to be unloaded, said last mentioned means comprising converging guides one of which actsto set said part of said controlling means as aforesaid and the other of which acts to unset said part of a succeeding carrier pres I viously'set to unload at said station.

20. In despatch apparatus, a track having therealong a plurality of stations, carriers to travel along said track, means to automatically unload any given oneof said car:

riers at a determined one of said stations, a controlling device, carried by each'carrier and adapted to be set to determine thestation at which said carrier is to be unloaded, and means to set a part of said controlling device from a point adjacent the station from which the load is olespatched, into any one of a plurality of adjustments thereof in correspondence with the station at which said carrier is to be unloaded, said setting means comprising converging guides one of which acts to set said part of said control ling device as aforesaid and the other of which acts to unset said part of a succeedg carrier previously set to unload at said station.

21. In despatch apparatus, a track having therealong a plurality of stations, carriers to travel along said track, means to automatically unload any given one of-said carriers at a determined one of said stations, a controlling device carried by each carrier and adapted to be set to determine 'the station at which said carrier is to be unloaded, means to set a part of said controlling device from a point adjacent the station from which the load is despatched, into any one of a plurality of adjustments thereof in accordance with the station at Which said carrier is to be unloaded, means, an

each of said stations, for projecting and re tractin'g'sa-id part laterally with respect to thepath oftravel of said carrier, said part being adapted for engagement with said setting means only when projected by said last mentioned means, means to prevent said Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each',jby addressing the Commissioner of Yatents, 5

projection of said part when the latter has been set, means at each of the stations variably set in diiferent positions with respect to the line of travel of said carriers and each corresponding to one of said plurality of adjustments of said part, to selectively co-act with said part when in its'retracted position, and means, controlled by the co-action of said part and last mentioned means, to actuate said unloading means.

In despatch apparatus, a track having therealong a plurality of stations, carriers to travel along said track and adapted to be loaded'from above the same while horizontally traveling past a station; a loading platform at at least one of said stations and comprising substantially horizontal fingers'supported from points above the level ofsaid fingers and at theends of said hori zontal fingers which are nearest to a carrier as the latter approaches the same, a sweepo'ff device on said carrier, portions of which areadapted to pass between said horizontal fingers to sweep ed a load from the latter onto said carrier, means to effect relative vertical movement between said device and saidhorizontal fingers, and means to con trol the action of said last mentioned means, to'determine the points along said track at which said device shall co-act with said fingers.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

- v, CHESTER S. JENNINGS.

Witnesses:

R. E. FIsKn, J. I. CARR.

,Washington, D. C. 

